Story One: The Powers
by JimberlyShipper
Summary: First in a series called "A New Way of Life."


Disclaimer: This is the beginning of my new series. I sat at my computer for hours trying to come up with a series idea. So much has already been done, and finally I decided to start at the beginning, with the original five. I would put my own twist on "The Day of the Dumpster" and go from there. (Also, I have Lord Zedd instead of Rita. Rita doesn`t exsist.) So here it is, my new series. It`s called "A New Way of Life". Very original, isn`t it? Oh, well. Anything that isn`t Saban`s or Keyser and Lippman`s is mine. This first story is called........ PS. It just came to my attention that Thuy Trang passed away on September 3rd. I want to dedicate this story to her memory.  
  
Story One: The Powers  
  
By Julia Phares  
  
Zero in on a typical American high school. It sits in the middle of a smallish town called Angel Grove, in California. It is a great school, and the only high school in the city. Kids either ride the bus or walk from their nice suburban neighborhoods. (See what I said about it being a typical American high school?)  
  
Zero in again to a hallway, with kids opening lockers and talking with their friends. There are cliques here, but not the type you`d think. There`s really no group that`s more "popular" per say than the other, just everyone does their own thing.  
  
We get even closer to a group of kids standing by a girl`s locker. She has shoulder-length hair and hazel eyes. She`s wearing a blue jean skirt with a pink top and white Keds. Her pals are three guys and a girl. The first guy, holding onto her locker door, is her boyfriend. He is wearing a pair of dark red jeans and a red plaid hooded sweatshirt. He holds books in one arm, and is grinning. (He is a hottie, and the pick of the litter at Angel Grove High.) The boy next to him is wearing blue overalls and a white shirt. He`s the brains of the group. Also the shyest. The girl next to him is an Asian beauty with long dark hair, almond shaped eyes, and is wearing white jeans and a yellow tee.  
  
We shift to the other side of the original girl to see a African American god. He is muscular, and yet, he wears baggy black jeans and a large colorful African looking top. It too, is hooded.  
  
Despite their not caring about what anyone thinks of them, their ability to wear what feels good despite what is trendy, and their overall niceness towards others, (including teachers) they are what you would call "popular" in the sense of the word.  
  
These kids' names? The hazel eyed girl is Kimberly Hart, her boyfriend, Jason Scott, the brain, William Mitchell, (Billy), the African American god, Zachary Taylor (Zack), and the Asian beauty, Trini Kwan. These kids have been friends since they could crawl, and despite their different interests, always have fun together.  
  
Jason closes Kimberly`s locker door, and they walk down the hall. They all have English first period. As they walk, they see that today was no different than any other day: kids doing what they want, kissing who they wanted.  
  
Zack lifted a heavy novel from his stack of books. ''I know ya`ll read the chapter last night, right?'' It was a copy of Stephen King`s Needful Things, which had just come out a few weeks ago.  
  
Jason nodded. They`d gotten the book last week, and he`d already read up to page one hundred thirty. ''Yeah, what do you want to know? Didn`t you read it?''  
  
Zack nodded. ''Parts of it. I had to baby-sit my cousin, Jamie. She`s Curtis`s little sis.'' He opened the novel and began to read it as he walked.  
  
Billy asked aloud, ''Why are they having us read a Stephen King novel in American Lit? It`s not considered great literature.''  
  
Jason replied, ''Maybe not by you, but some people might. It`s all in your perception of things.'' He slid his hand into Kimberly`s.  
  
Before they could go to their English class, they were sucked up to a strange place. It was called the Command Center. Zordon had seen Lord Zedd`s entourage heading for planet Earth, and knew they`d need Rangers.  
  
Zordon said aloud, ''HELLO, JASON, KIMBERLY, WILLIAM, ZACHARY, AND TRINI. I AM ZORDON OF ELTAR, AND I WISH TO WELCOME YOU TO THE COMMAND CENTER.''  
  
Kimberly looked around in amazement. She held tightly to Jason`s and Zack`s arms. She didn`t know what was going on, but she wanted to have the both of them near her.  
  
Zordon said, ''YOU HAVE BEEN BROUGHT HERE TO BE THE POWER RANGERS AND FIGHT EVIL LORD ZEDD.''  
  
Jason looked at the others. They were preoccupied with looking around them, so he said, ''What`s the Power Rangers? And who`s Lord Zedd?''  
  
Zordon explained, ending with, ''AND I HAVE CHOSEN YOU FIVE TO BE THE NEW POWER RANGERS.''  
  
Zack asked, patting Kimberly`s arm, which was linked with his, ''Why us? And this is just too weird.''  
  
Billy pushed his glasses up and said, ''I for one, am intrigued. I`d like to know more.''  
  
Alpha 5 said, ''Well, you get a morpher, which holds your power coin. There are five power coins. Mastodon, pteryodactal, tricerotops, saber- toothed tiger, and tryannosaurus. Black, pink, blue, yellow, and red.''  
  
Trini asked, ''And how would we morph?''  
  
Alpha eagerly replied, ''You hold your morpher up and call out your prehistoric animal`s name.''  
  
Jason walked forward, taking Kimberly and Zack with him, since Kimberly had linked arms with both boys. ''That sounds cool. Wadda say, guys?''  
  
Billy pushed his glasses up again. ''That would be very cool.''  
  
Alpha passed out the power coins and morphers. They all took one and morphed one time to practice.  
  
Zack: MASTODON!  
  
Kimberly: PTERYODACTAL!  
  
Billy: TRICEROTOPS!  
  
Trini: SABER-TOOTHED TIGER!  
  
Jason: TRYANNOSAURUS!  
  
They all demorphed by Jason saying "power down". Zordon explained about the zords as Alpha passed out the communicators and told them how to use them. They all left, with Zordon promising that he`d let them know when the need for their services arouse.  
  
They arrived back at school, and it was third period. They`d missed two periods in a row. They weren`t sure what to do, so they just went their seperate ways. Jason, Kimberly, and Zack all headed to history, and Billy and Trini went to Biology.  
  
Jason opened the class`s door for Kimberly and Zack. As he did, he heard Principal Caplan coming down the hall. ''Mr. Scott.'' He said, ''Glad you and your friends decided to show. It`s in your favor.''  
  
The young man wasn`t sure what to say. It would be a lie to say that himself, his girlfriend, and friends had been at school all day, for they hadn`t. He was about to make something up when a piece of paper appeared in his back pocket. He yanked it out to read it. It said, Please excuse Jason Scott, Zachary Taylor, Kimberly Hart, Trini Kwan, and William Mitchell from periods one and two. All were working on a project for me. Signed, Mr. Charles Scott.  
  
Mr. Caplan said impatiently, ''Mr. Scott, are you even going to explain yourself?''  
  
Jason calmly handed over the paper, thinking, 'You can tell it`s from Zordon. My brother never writes that formally.' Aloud, he said, ''My friends and I were helping my brother.'' He said.  
  
Mr. Caplan looked over the note. ''Ah, your brother who works construction. Right?''  
  
Jason shook his head. ''That`s my uncle. Charlie manages my dad`s resturuant, since my parents died.''  
  
Mr. Caplan nodded. ''Well, see that you`re on time for school in the future.'' He waltzed off down the hall.  
  
Ms. Dalton, the teacher, said kindly, ''Jason, you`d better get inside before the bell rings.''  
  
Jason entered the classroom and took his seat behind Kim. She turned to look at him. ''What`d Caplan say?'' She asked.  
  
Her boyfriend replied, ''He wanted to know why we weren`t in school this morning.''  
  
Zack, who was beside Kimberly, leaned over. ''What`d you tell him?'' He asked.  
  
Jason replied, ''I was trying to think of something when this note popped into my pocket. I pulled it out and it was a note from Charlie, saying we`d been helping him.''  
  
Kimberly looked from Zack back to Jason as she said, ''It must have been Zordon. That`s cool, making it so we`re not in trouble.''  
  
Zack added, ''Yeah, that is cool, but what if you know who attacks while we`re in school? Big Z can only help us out so many times.''  
  
Before the others could say anything more, Ms. Dalton called the class to order. ''OK, today we`ve got nothing planned. I`ve lost my lesson plans, so I couldn`t make up your test. So, sorry at this news, children, but you`ll have to have a free period.'' She sat back down and opened a novel by John Grisham.  
  
Jason and Kimberly and Zack got out of their seats and went to the back of the room to sit on the floor. Jason and Kimberly cuddled up and Zack leaned against the wall.  
  
Kimberly said, ''Are you guys worried about fighting Lord Zedd? I am. And why did Zordon pick us? What`s so special about us?''  
  
Jason replied, ''He must have seen something in us that we don`t see.''  
  
Zack nodded. ''I guess. I wonder though......not all of us fights with the same martial arts skills. Why would he pick us?''  
  
Kimberly ran her finger absently across Jason`s arm. ''Maybe that`s what he wanted. People who fight differently and have different weaknesses and strengths.''  
  
Jason nodded. ''That makes sense, actually.'' He kissed his girlfriend`s cheek.  
  
The three were interrupted by a noise. They all looked up. They`d been talking quietly, and they hadn`t anticipated anyone hearing.  
  
They needn`t have worried. It was only their friend Kayla Johnson. She was a very shy young girl. She had been going to school with the five of them forever. She said, ''Jason, can I talk to you?''  
  
Jason looked at his friends. ''Do you guys mind?''  
  
Kimberly and Zack shook their heads. ''No, go ahead. Hi, Kayla, how are you?'' Kim asked.  
  
Kayla grinned. It was absentminded, however, like she had something else on her mind. ''Hi, Kim. I`m OK. What about you?''  
  
Kim`s reply was lost as Kayla led Jason a few feet away. She turned to Zack. ''Did you notice anything weird about Kayla? Was she acting strange to you?''  
  
Zack shook his head. ''To tell you the truth, I didn`t really notice.''  
  
Kimberly brushed back her hair. ''Well, trust me, it was weird.''  
  
The classroom was interrupted by Bulk and Skull, the resident bullies, entering class late. ''Ms. D, what`s up?''  
  
Ms. Dalton looked at them. Do you boys have late passes?''  
  
Bulk shook his head. ''No, ma'am. Mr. Caplan was yelling at us in his office again. We were picking on geeks.''  
  
Zack looked at Kimberly. ''He says this so casually.''  
  
She nodded. ''Yeah, like it wasn`t wrong or anything.''  
  
The boys sat down in desks near the three Rangers. Jason finished with Kayla and joined his friends again. ''Look, it`s the geeks of Angel Grove High.'' Bulk said.  
  
Jason seated himself beside Kim. ''Look, you guys, maybe you should make yourself scarce. We`re talking.''  
  
Zack added, ''Yeah, buzz off, creeps!''  
  
Bulk said, ''Make us, geek.'' Skull echoed, ''Yeah, make us!''  
  
Jason and Zack both stood up. With their martial arts training, they knew to let their opponent attack first, so they sidestepped Bulk and Skull`s flying fists. The bullies fell onto the floor, making Kimberly roll expertly out of the way. Jason helped her up.  
  
Bulk said, ''That wasn`t smart, geeks!''  
  
Jason replied, ''How would you know? It actually requires a brain to know what`s smart.''  
  
Zack added, ''Yeah. All you need is a club and you`d make a perfect caveman!''  
  
Jason and Zack both laughed as Bulk and Skull, defeated, sat down in front of them, ignoring them.  
  
Kimberly shook her head. ''They are so stupid. How you get through life being that dumb I`ll never understand.''  
  
Meanwhile, Billy and Trini were both concentrating on their biology experiment. They both had to have it done by the end of the period. Luckily for them both, they were smart. Billy lifted his goggles as they finished putting all the elements in the beaker.  
  
The science teacher, Mr. Daring, walked over to examine their work. ''Well done, Billy and Trini.'' He said enthusiastically. ''You`ve gotten the farthest with the experiment I`ve given you. Come, class, take a look at this!'' The whole class crowded around to see Billy and Trini`s experiment.  
  
The friends looked at each other in excitment, glad they`d both done well.  
  
Lord Zedd watched from the Moon. He was in the Lunar Palace, and checking out the Power Rangers Zordon had gathered. The two he was currently watching were very smart. The other three, in the English class, were all right, but certainly not much to worry about. He`d take care of all of them in due time.  
  
He was interrrupted by Finster, his monster maker. He was growing bored with nothing to do. Zedd looked at him. ''What, you sniveling peabrain?''  
  
Finster replied, ''You must give me something to do, my lord. I`ve finished a lot of monsters, and I think maybe you could look one over.''  
  
Zedd replied, ''OK. Fine, maybe it`s time to give the Power Rangers their first battle.'' They walked into Finster`s monster-making room. Zedd looked over a few of Finster`s clay figures. ''This one looks promising.'' He said, selecting a large looking elephant. It was wearing armor and had a especially long trunk.  
  
Finster said, ''Ah, that`s my Forgetinator. It will make you forget all that you hold dear.'' He lifted it and put it into the machine. Out came a battle ready monster. ''I`m here to serve you, Lord Zedd!''  
  
Zedd just waved his hand and sent it to the park with some of his putties.  
  
Zordon and Alpha were alerted of this monster. ''ALPHA, IT SEEMS LORD ZEDD HAS SENT DOWN HIS FIRST MONSTER. TELEPORT THE RANGERS TO THE COMMAND CENTER SO WE MAY TELL THEM OF IT.''  
  
Alpha nodded. ''OK, Zordon.''  
  
The Rangers were soon standing in front of Zordon. Kimberly asked, ''What is it, Zordon?''  
  
Zordon replied, ''OBSERVE THE VIEWING GLOBE, RANGERS. ZEDD HAS SENT DOWN A MONSTER, CALLED FORGETINATOR. INSIDE HIS TRUNK IS A POWERFUL SLIME THAT WILL MAKE YOU FORGET ALL YOU KNOW. IF YOU GET BLASTED, ALPHA WILL HAVE TO GET A FLOWER TO CURE YOU.''  
  
Jason said, ''Well then, it`s Morphin' Time!''  
  
Zack: MASTODON!  
  
Kimberly: PTERYODACTAL!  
  
Billy: TRICEROTOPS!  
  
Trini: SABER-TOOTHED TIGER!  
  
Jason: TRYANNOSAURUS!  
  
They teleported to the park, where the monster was spreading havoc. Jason said, ''You guys handle the putties, I`ll try the monster.''  
  
Kimberly, Billy, and Trini split up and began fighting putties. Zack fought a couple and then joined Jason against the monster.  
  
Jason knocked Forgetinator to his feet, then dodged a blow from the trunk. ''Hey, Zack. Be careful, he`s shot two times already.''  
  
Zack yanked out his Power Blaster and shot, knocking the monster to his feet again. ''This guy`s not so tough!'' He proclaimed.  
  
Then he got knocked to his feet by the powerful slime. ''Oh no!'' He cried, before he forgot who he was.  
  
The other Rangers joined them, having defeated the putties. ''What`s with Zack?'' Trini asked, seeing his body covered in slime.  
  
Jason replied, ''He got hit by the monster! We`ve got to send him to the Command Center, so we can defeat this guy!''  
  
Kimberly nodded, and Billy hit a button on Zack`s communicator. ''That should take him right to the Command Center.''  
  
The monster climbed to his feet. ''Ah, more Rangers to defeat!'' He cried, sending out more slime. The Rangers dodged the blows, leaping and rolling out of the way.  
  
Kimberly had landed next to Trini, and both were lying beside a tree. ''This guy doesn`t know when to quit!'' She cried, as she leaped up again.  
  
Billy and Jason climbed up from where they had landed. ''We`ve got to destroy his trunk, it`s the source of his power! If he can`t shoot slime, he can`t take away our memories!'' The scientist deduced.  
  
Jason looked at the monster, then his friends. ''Come on, let`s show Forgetinator the time of his life!''  
  
They each pulled out their blasters, and shot them. The monster flew backwards, landing on the ground. He sent out a blast, knocking them all to their feet. Jason knew they needed Zack and his power ax. ''Zordon! Has Zack gotten his memory back? We can`t defeat the Forgetinator without him!''  
  
Zordon replied, ''Alpha has just finished the potion. He should be back to normal within seconds.''  
  
Zack had arrived before Jason could reply. ''Hey, guys, let`s get rid of this trunk!''  
  
They all shot their blasters, and the monster flew ten feet away. Zedd groaned. ''They`re going to defeat him! Make him grow!'' He cried, using his staff to make Forgetinator grow in size.  
  
Kimberly cried, ''Hey, the monster`s grown in size! What if he makes us all lose our memories when we get into the zords?''  
  
Billy looked up. ''Zordon will be able to help us if he does, Kim, I`m sure of it.''  
  
That said, Jason proclaimed, ''We need dinozord power now!''  
  
The zords came flying out of their hiding places, and they leaped into them. Jason cried, ''Rangers, online. Power up your crystals.''  
  
His fellow Rangers complied, and soon they had formed the Megazord, and were ready to take down this monster.  
  
A short battle ensued, in which the good guys won by killing Forgetinator with the Power Sword from the Megazord.  
  
The Rangers all demorphed and raced back to school. Everyone was settling down and eating lunch. They went to their lockers and dashed into the caf. Zack bit into an apple as they all settled around a table. ''How cool was that?'' He asked, grinning.  
  
Kimberly gave Jason a kiss as she yanked out his cookies and bit into them. ''Yeah, that was pretty cool.'' She said, giving a half to Trini.  
  
Billy pushed his glasses up. ''I guess we`re superheroes now.'' He said, looking like he quite liked the idea.  
  
They looked at each other. This was going to be quite an adventure.................... 


End file.
